Food for Thought

It comes as no surprise that some foods are healthier than others. But many emerging studies are highlighting foods beneficial to more than just your waistline.
Good news for chocoholics: A recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows a correlation between a country’s appetite for chocolate and the number of Nobel laureates who hail from there. This finding suggests (in a tongue-in-cheek way) chocolate consumption could improve cognitive functioning. Switzerland, whose population consumes the most chocolate globally, places second behind Sweden (the home of the Nobel committee) in laureates per capita.

A handful of cherries a day might keep the gout away. Gout, an arthritic condition caused by uric acid crystalizing in the joints, is on the rise in America. Yet patients who consumed up to three servings of fresh cherries over two days lowered their risk of gout attacks by 35 percent, according to a study published in Arthritis & Rheumatism.
When you add tomatoes to your salad, pasta or BLT, you might be decreasing your risk of having a stroke. Research published in the journal Neurology suggests lycopene, an antioxidant responsible for the red color of tomatoes, is beneficial for brain health. People with higher levels of lycopene in their systems were 55 percent less likely to suffer a stroke, scientists found.